Bee Steps

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Airs Weekdays 2:31, 3:31 and 5:49 a.m.

The Loh Down on Science is the fun way to get your daily dose of science in less than two minutes. The program explains the world of science with a dash of humor. Hosted by writer/performer and Caltech alumna Sandra Tsing Loh, it's a program for those who love science as well as for those who avoid it!

The shortage is in part because of varroa mites. The mites are tiny predators that crawl inside hives, clamp onto bee larvae, and SUCK out their circulatory fluid. Eew.

But now comes good news. Dave Chandler of Britain's University of Warwick has discovered at least fifty fungi that are POISON to the mites.

Chandler singled out four of these fungi: They kill the mites, but don't harm bees and can flourish inside hives.

The trick? Getting those helpful fungi inside bee colonies.

To do this, Chandler placed trays full of fungus at the hives' main entrance. When bees land to go in, they have to walk through the fungus, tracking it inside. The fungus then grows in the hive, killing the mites!